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Have you had it before? That winsome, garlicky combo of chickpeas, tahini, and olive oil. Smooth, savory, creamy and filling. There’s nothing that more fittingly adorns a little triangle of fresh warm pita. (Providing there’s no Nutella on hand!)

I love hummus for a number of reasons: Eating it has never knowingly made me sick in a foreign land. It plates far more attractively than the whole sheep brain appetizer* delivered to our table one time in Damascus! It’s filling, but with a slight aura of healthiness about it. And, finally, it’s preparation has a wide margin of error and a high likelihood of tasty success.

With origins in the ancient Middle East, Wikipedia confesses, “evidence is insufficient to determine the precise location or time of the invention of hummus,” but something like it began to show up in Cairo cookbooks in the 13th century!

Lately, hummus consumption is exploding in the US! In an effort to keep up, American farmers have quadrupled their chickpea output since 2009!

These days you can buy sixteen different kinds of Sabra Hummus, and a “hummus” search on amazon.com yields seven pages of products! Lots of choices, but it’s actually pretty easy to make your own. Simple, classic, delicious.

Here’s an even better reason to make your own: It offers a solid reason to visit a Middle Eastern grocery and a dead-simple and sensible excuse to engage the kindly, old proprietor (or otherwise) in conversation. “What kind of chickpeas do I start with?” “Which of these tahini’s is best?” And the best one, “When I make this hummus, will you taste if for me and tell me your honest opinion?”

Send me a photo of your next hummus effort and I’ll celebrate with you! Bonus points if you’re eating it with a kindly grocer!

*Yes, those are actually Rice Krispy brains. I couldn’t bear to show you the real thing. Google it for yourself! 

Ibtihaj Muhammad is a sword-wielding Muslim: But she’s a woman, not so angry and fights for our side. To clarify, she was the first American Olympic athlete to compete wearing a hijab. And she got a bronze medal for her fencing efforts in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ibtihaj was born in 1985 in New Jersey to African American parents who’d converted to Islam. They encouraged their kids to play sports, but Ibtihaj was hampered by the conflict between modest Islamic clothing and most uniforms. One day her mom drove by a local high school and saw fencing. She didn’t know what it was, but appreciated the body-covering uniforms! Ibtihaj starting fencing soon after!

She worked hard and rose up through the fencing ranks, eventually, helping the US team take bronze in Rio before retiring from the sport in 2018.

In addition to mastering her sport, in 2014 she launched a clothing line with her siblings. She’s also become a sports diplomat, had a Barbie modeled on her and published two books, a memoir and a book for kids.

Unless you really hate Stephen Colbert, you’ll love this interview he did with Ibtihaj. At least scroll to the 4.30 mark to see his fencing mask reveal!

What’s all this matter to you and me? Two things: 1. Ibtihaj’s story is a fascinating one that merits celebration. 2. If I’m not careful (Not accusing you of this, just personally confessing.), I’ll regard Muslims from a down-looking position of pity. Yes, we all need Jesus. Yes, as well, there’s a higher love than pity.

History can be murky, eh? Few of us have as much time as we’d like to dig into what actually happened, when and why. As a result, we tend to have a generalized, though hopefully generally accurate, broad stroke understanding of life.

This is true about Muslims. One of the key “outsider looking in” characteristics of Islam is that the religion and it’s adherents oppress women. My purpose here isn’t to challenge that idea. The evidence is ample. But it might help to remember that that’s not the whole story.

In a fun article, Azad Essa talks about a couple of key books shedding light on this.

“In her book, Women’s Rebellion and Islamic Memory, Fatima Mernissi tries to account for the contradiction between a history of scholarship that did include women and the ‘lowly image attributed to Muslim women in their own society today.’

“Mernissi says the memory of women ‘as active, full participants in the making of culture’ exists. [But] she argues that these histories have been mediated by conservative (men) who have played the role of gatekeepers to the existing annals of knowledge.”

Bringing some of that memory to life, Hossein Kamaly’s new book, “A History of Islam in 21 Women,” profiles women who worshipped, studied, taught and ruled throughout Islam’s history. It’s only slightly exaggerating to say these women didn’t take nothing from nobody!

For example, Safiye Sultan (1550–1619) started her career as a concubine during the Ottoman Empire. She went on to give birth to a future sultan and guide matters of state from both behind the scenes and before. Rich and powerful, by some accounts pure and merciful, Safiy was not without deep faults. But she was a force to be reckoned with in Ottoman Constantinople.

While not withholding concern and prayer, let’s also give respect where it’s due. Throughout history, Muslim women have done much with little. Most still do.

Muslim Connect is always free, but a couple of times a year I ask you to consider donating to keep it going and growing. Together we can reach a ton of people with the hope-filled message that God loves Muslims and we can equip many with the tools they need to connect. Donate today and I’ll send you some cool “Jesus Loves Muslims” stickers! 

A. I’ve made some fun stickers that I’d love to send your way as a thank you for helping Muslim Connect survive and thrive. Muslim Connect is free, but if you’ve found value in it, please consider donating to keep it going. This summer I’m specifically raising funds to launch into video.

B. Last week we briefly looked at the case for seeing God and Allah as the same entity. Nabeel Qureshi makes the case against that assertion.

I deeply appreciate his emphasis on our attitudes as we consider this: “Like all good questions, the answer is more complex than most want, but I am confident of my position: Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God, but given the complexity of the matter we all ought to stop demonizing those who disagree with us.”

Qureshi argues, “For Christians, Jesus is certainly God, and for Muslims Jesus is certainly not God. . . . This fact alone is enough to settle the matter. . .” He sums up, “the Christian God, both in terms of what he is (Triune) and who he is (Father, Son, and Spirit) is not just different from the Muslim God; He is fundamentally incompatible. According to Islam, worshiping the Christian God is not just wrong; it sends you to Hell. They are not the same God.”

Like the master apologist he was, Nabeel sticks the landing! Keeping his starting point in mind, “the answer is more complex than most want,” may the true God give us grace and courage to love both Muslims and each other like Jesus.

C. Finally, I mentioned my Mom’s COVID test last week. Thank you for praying. It came back negative and she is already feeling much better! I am relieved and happy. This fallen world is better with her kicking around in it!

Thank you for reading Muslim Connect. I’m honored that you do. Now go check out those stickers. When you make a gift, I’ll drop some in the mail to you. Thank you to the faithful readers who’ve already donated!

As I write today, my mom is awaiting the results of her recent COVID test. She’s one of millions who’ve been tested this week, but her results matter to me more than all the rest. She’s my mom.

I wonder if there’s a similar dynamic lighting up the question of whether or not the God of the Bible and the Allah of Islam are the same person. This matters to us because something very close to our hearts seems to be at stake.

Three things I think:

1. The question gets deep in a hurry. The emotion intrinsic to the debate is equaled by its complexity. As such, I’m hesitant to embrace short, “It’s obvious, you dumb dumb!” sorts of answers.
2. There are places where the question is dealt with kindly and respectfully. I particularly appreciate this short video from Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf and this blog post from the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.
3. This matters to me because I so want Muslims to live. I believe I’m driven by practicality that says, “If Muslims simply have an incomplete view of the God we all serve, the leap of faith is less.”

While I ultimately want us all, including me, to walk in line with truth, to see things as they really are and live accordingly, I’ll admit I’m biased. I want the leap of faith to be as small as possible so that as many as possible will find life in Jesus.

Tune in next week for the basic arguments against God and Allah being the same entity.

If this question is important to you, if it stirs emotion and nudges you to engage, I’d love to hear from you. Why is this question important and what’s your thinking? Please comment here.

Muslim Connect is always free, however twice a year I reach out and ask faithful readers to donate to keep it thriving. This year I’m specifically raising funds to make a jump into video development. Muslim Connect will remain a text-based, quick read email, but I’d like to reach more people through the use of brief, punchy videos. Please donate here or check out the budget and equipment list here. Thank you.

The name is catchy but has already been taken by a small Nigerian sect in Lagos who seemed to have actually combined the two.

My friends at Peace Catalyst International admit, “we are often accused of compromising our faith. Some people even claim we are teaching “Chrislam,” a syncretistic blending of Christianity and Islam.”   (The FAQ I’m quoting from is brilliant. I encourage you to read the entire piece.)

Truth and Love
They remind us, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no person comes to the Father but through me’ (John 14:6). Jesus also taught that our eternal destiny depends on how we respond to him (John 3:16). So we believe Jesus’ exclusive truth claims.”

“Jesus also hung out with the ‘wrong’ crowd. He loved the marginalized and was even called the friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19). Moreover, he commanded us to love our neighbors and our enemies (Matthew 22:9; Matthew 5:44). Thus Jesus also taught and modeled inclusive love aims.”

They conclude, “One reason we are accused of teaching Chrislam is that people see us living out Jesus’ inclusive love aims and assume we have denied his exclusive truth claims. But the fact is that true followers of Jesus must both declare truth and model love. To deny either truth or love is to deny Jesus.”

As you might guess, if I’m out of balance it’s going to be leaning toward the “inclusive love claims.” How about you?

For the record, if the Pope and Rick Warren are trying to start “Chrislam” (which I don’t think they are), they’re doing a lousy job of it! 

Late last year I asked us to pray for this. Let’s thank God for hearing and answering that prayer. In these days when fresh cries for justice are occurring all around, this is a small step in a good direction.

Of course, the challenge is implementation. The President has 180 days from signing to submit a list of those deemed responsible for human rights violations. Their assets can be frozen along with visas and admission to the US being denied.

There will likely be push back from China. Early published responses from China’s Foreign Ministry urge the, “U.S. side to immediately correct its mistakes. . . . Otherwise, China will resolutely take countermeasures, and all the consequences arising therefrom must be fully borne by the United States.”

Two Caveats

One: You may have heard that John Bolton’s just-released book claimsPresident Trump last year agreed with Chinese President Xi on the Uyghur camps. So signing this law is a switch or maybe just politics.

Two: I don’t know about you, but it’s always easier for me to point out error in others. The U.S. has miles to go in our own human rights efforts before we sleep. Again, this may be politics of distraction.

Please thank God with me for this new law and ask that it will serve his purposes and contribute to many Uyghurs finding life for their bodies and souls. And, please God, don’t let it just be politics.